


A Granger-Snape Family Tradition

by AshJuillet



Series: Challenges [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adult Hermione Granger, Alternate Universe, Children, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Gen, Severus Snape Lives, gratitude, scavenger hunt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-14 03:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28913850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshJuillet/pseuds/AshJuillet
Summary: Having survived the war when others hadn’t, Hermione was a firm believer in being grateful for everything she had. Every morning when she woke up, she simply took a few minutes to tell Severus three things she was grateful for that day. Severus, too, began to feel more thankful for the amenities available to him, the love he felt for his wife, and even the almost-friendly relationship he had with Minerva and the other professors at Hogwarts.So, naturally, when their twins were old enough to understand gratefulness, Hermione and Severus had done their best to teach it to them in a way they could understand and appreciate. Thus, their monthly Scavenger Hunt Day had been established.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Severus Snape
Series: Challenges [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2108157
Comments: 6
Kudos: 42
Collections: Page 394 Discord Winter Holidays Celebration





	A Granger-Snape Family Tradition

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [00_Page_394_Winter_Holidays_Collection](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/00_Page_394_Winter_Holidays_Collection) collection. 



> Written for Page 394 Discord Winter Holidays Celebration

Maggie shot out of bed with a loud cry, which startled Silas into falling off his bunk. "It's Scavenger Hunt day!" she screamed as she rolled out of bed and ran towards the door.

Silas groaned and rubbed the bump on his head. "You didn't have to scream, you know…"

Maggie hopped as she attempted to open the door, and Silas rolled his eyes as he watched her from his spot near the bed. "Come, help me, Si!" she cried, glaring at him over her shoulder.

"Fine," Silas grumbled, rubbing his eyes blearily as he got to his feet and walked over to her side. The door may have been warded to stop the children from exiting the room, but Silas had learned how to disable the wards without alerting the adults. He reached out, tapped the corner of the door and let his magic instinctively flow through him. With a soft click, the wards were down, and the door swung open.

Excitedly, Maggie grabbed his arm and dragged him towards their parents' room. Maggie kicked the door open and yelled into the dimly lit room, "Mummy! Daddy! Wake up! Come on!"

Blearily, Severus Snape squinted as he peeked out from under the heavy blankets and scowled. "Why are you two up so early?" He had never been a morning person, and he silently cursed that Maggie was so enthusiastic this early.

"Daddy," Maggie cried, running over and climbing on top of him. "You  _ know _ why! It's  _ Scavenger Hunt Day _ !"

"Ugh," Severus groaned and quickly tried to cover his head with the blanket, but Maggie grabbed onto it with both hands. She was surprisingly strong for a four-year-old, and Severus scowled, tugging on the blanket, trying to extract it from her hands.

"Daddy, it's tre-truh-diction!" she wailed, tears pooling in her wide dark brown eyes. When she saw her mother exit the bathroom, she jumped off of Severus and rushed to her side. " _ Mummy _ ! Look at Daddy! He won't get up!"

Hermione chuckled as Severus pulled the blanket tighter around him. She knew he was always ill-tempered if he didn’t get his much-needed sleep, but Maggie was a force to be reckoned with. "Severus, don't be such an old grump. Maggie's getting mad at you, and you don't want to make your little princess mad, do you?" Her voice lilted with her tease as she walked over to the curtains and pulled them open.

Maggie yanked on the blanket to uncover Severus' face, and he squinted and hissed in reply as the sunlight streamed through the window. "I'm melting! Help!" he whisper-yelled as he pretended to die. It was a running joke in their family that Severus was a vampire, and because he loved his children so much, he often pretended to be just that. Once upon a time, he would have lashed out at the students who called him that behind his back, taking off points for their insolent behaviour, but the precious joy of his own children made it worth pretending to be a vampire bat.

Silas' lips twitched into a small smile as he watched Maggie laugh and tug their father away from the sunlight. Hermione laughed and squealed when Severus wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her onto the bed. "Come join us, honey," she called out to Silas, her hand extended, and he smiled as he crawled onto the bed to settle in between his mother and sister.

Life was good for the Granger-Snapes.

* * *

After the war had ended and life went back to the new normal, Hermione had become his Apprentice, but he had never even thought that one day he would find real happiness with the brunette witch. Severus had no idea how he had even gathered the courage to ask Hermione out — let alone marry him and start a family together. As he hadn't had many belongings in his childhood, he hadn't been very grateful throughout his life. Over the years, he had lost his only friend — first, to Potter, and then, to death — and his attitude towards life had grown even bleaker.

It was only after he had married Hermione and started a family with her that he realized how  _ good _ the universe had been to him. Having survived the war when others hadn’t, Hermione was a firm believer in being grateful for everything she had. Every morning when she woke up, she simply took a few minutes to tell Severus three things she was grateful for that day. Sometimes, she thanked the universe for lighthearted things, such as her brand new book, a Sugar Quill, or freshly brewed coffee. But other times, she would whisper her gratefulness for having survived the war, that her parents were still alive even though they didn’t remember her, or that the nightmares weren't as bad now that she had Severus to comfort her. And soon, Severus, too, began to feel more thankful for the amenities available to him, the love he felt for his wife, and even the almost-friendly relationship he had with Minerva and the other professors at Hogwarts.

So, naturally, when the twins were old enough to understand gratefulness, Hermione and Severus had done their best to teach it to them in a way they could understand and appreciate. Thus, their monthly Scavenger Hunt Day had been established.

* * *

As the twins were still unable to read, Hermione and Severus read out the list of items they needed to find, and the children ran off to collect their objects.

Once they were finally alone, Severus turned towards her and cupped her face, a small smile playing on his lips. "Good morning," he whispered, his dark eyes soft and filled with affection.

"We've been up for the past three hours, Sev!" Hermione exclaimed, chortling at his greeting.

"Well, I haven't properly greeted you yet — what with the two monsters running amok in our house," he stated, leaning down to kiss her sweetly.

Sighing with contentment at the feeling of his lips against hers, she closed her eyes and savoured the moment. "Those two monsters are  _ your _ children," she reminded him, amusement audible in her tone, slowly opening her eyes. She knew how much he loved their children; surprisingly, he was very good with them. 

"And  _ yours _ ," Severus said, smirking as he tightened his arms around her waist. The sound of her laughter caused his heart to race in his chest; even after six years together, Severus still loved listening to the sound of her laughter just as much as he had the first time he had made her laugh on their first date. He still remembered how he had made a cutting remark about the 'quality' of potions in St Mungo's and Hermione had burst into peals of laughter. The sound had startled him so much that he had knocked his hot drink onto his slacks and gaped at the witch.

He was brought out of his musing when Hermione asked him something very important.

"How long do you think they'll take this time?" she questioned, fiddling with the top buttons of his shirt. She glanced at him meaningfully, and Severus smirked, pulling out his wand to cast a Silencing Charm on them. With two children in the house, they had had to get creative to find time for themselves.

"Long enough."

* * *

Accepting and even embracing her bushy hair meant that the children were unable to tell it was any more disheveled than usual, Hermione smoothed it down anyway. “The first item on the list is something that makes you happy,” she said, glancing at the blackboard on the wall. Severus had listed the items on the board that they kept in the living room, and Hermione had Charmed it to speak so that the children could understand what they needed to look for. “So, what did you get, Maggie?”

Maggie’s dark brown eyes shone with excitement as she pulled out her favourite doll and waved it at them. “Sarah always makes me happy, Mummy! Her smile, her hair, her eyes — everything makes me happy, and I love Aunt Ginny for giving her to me.”

“That’s very good, sweetie,” Hermione said with a smile, patting her head, and Maggie beamed with delight at the praise.

Severus looked at Silas, who stood nearby with a book in his arms. “What about you? What makes you happy?”

“When you read to us every night before we go to bed,” Silas declared calmly, handing Severus his favourite book.  _ Hogwarts: A History.  _ Just like Severus, Silas preferred to speak only when he needed to, and he didn’t mince his words either. “I like that.”

Severus nodded encouragingly at him, and Hermione smiled as well, which made Silas preen with pride. She looked at the list and asked, “What about something you would give to someone else to make them smile?”

Maggie squealed and bounced up and down as she waved her arm over her head. “Ooh, me, Mummy, me! Pick me!”

Severus hid his smile by pursing his lips, but he couldn’t help but remember how Hermione had used to flail her arms around to grab his attention in class. At that moment, he realized that Maggie looked a lot like Hermione when she did that; aside from darker hair and a nose that was clearly the curse on the Snape line, Maggie's curly hair and eager manner were clearly an imitation of her mother. “Hermione, just pick her already,” he muttered under his breath when he noticed his wife was pretending to think whom to choose. “You  _ know _ she won’t stop.”

Hermione laughed and said, “Alright, Maggie, tell us what your object is.”

Maggie pulled out a homemade card she had made for Severus on Father’s Day earlier that day. “Daddy smiled when I gave him this! I like it when he smiles. His eyes always shine and he looks very pretty — just like you, Mummy,” she said happily.

“Good save,” Severus said with a smirk, but his heart melted at her explanation. Never in his wildest dreams could he have thought of having two beautiful children to love him. Silently thanking Merlin for their presence in his life, he pulled her closer and pressed his lips to her temple. “Thank you, love.”

“Silas?” Hermione inquired, but Silas didn’t pull out anything from his bag. Instead, he rushed over to wrap his arms around her neck and hugged her as tight as he could. “Aww, baby,” she cooed, winding her arms around his waist and holding him tightly.

“A hug always makes you smile, Mummy,” he muttered in her neck, and Hermione almost cried at his words. If someone had told her a decade earlier that she would have her professor’s children and be happy about it, she would have asked them if they had been hexed by someone. But now, as she looked back at her life with her loving husband and imperfectly perfect children, tears welled up in her eyes. She kissed Silas’ cheek and beamed down at him.

“You’re  _ half- _ right, son. A hug from  _ us  _ always makes her smile,” Severus said, correcting him with a smirk. He swooped forward and scooped them all up in his arms, making them laugh and cling to him. His heart swelled with happiness at their joyful laughter, and he wished that he would always be there to see them smile. “See? I’m always right.”

“Daddy, we have to finish!” Maggie cried, trying to wriggle away from him. “Put us down!”

“You heard the princess,” Hermione teased, and Severus scowled as he let them go. She leaned towards him and kissed his jaw softly, her lips gently grazing the spot near his ear that never failed to make him shiver in delight. He shot her a pointed glare, but she simply winked and turned towards the children, who had settled back down on the carpet. “The next item is something you like to  _ smell _ . Silas, how about you go first this time?”

Silas pulled out a bottle of Hermione’s shampoo and said, “Mummy’s hair smells like flowers.”

Severus subtly tilted his head and sniffed her hair, and she giggled, batting him away. “Thank you, Si. That’s very sweet of you. What about you, Maggie? What did you get?”

Maggie grinned and showed them a bar of chocolate. “I love the smell of chocolate, Mummy!  _ And  _ I love to eat it, too! Can I eat it, Daddy? Can I?”

Knowing that she wouldn’t listen if he refused anyway, Severus rolled his eyes and nodded. "Just because you've already had a healthy breakfast, I'm going to allow you to eat some chocolate. But make sure you don't have more than one. You know how Mummy feels about treats." 

Maggie nodded and squealed like a pig as she ripped the wrapper off, broke the chocolate in two pieces and shoved one part into Silas’ mouth. “What’s next, Mummy?” she asked, her mouth full of the slowly melting chocolate, her teeth already stained brown.

“Something you enjoy looking at,” she read off the blackboard, and the twins immediately began to pull out different things from their bags. “One at a time!”

Silas cleared his throat before he showed them the magical picture of Hermione and Severus on their wedding day. In the photograph, the two of them stood gazing into each other’s eyes, their hands clasped together in between. 

Two beautiful vines of crawling greenery made a bold statement, serving as the backdrop for the reception. The deep-red roses braided in Hermione’s hair accented the minimalistic colours of the room and brought all eyes to her, which — for once — didn’t make her uncomfortable.

Severus remembered the day very well: the scent of magnolias in the air, the soft breeze that blew Hermione’s curls into her eyes, the delight in her eyes when he had dipped her during their first dance, the way their hearts had beat in sync as they had shared their first kiss as husband and wife. 

Then, Silas pulled out the homemade glitter jar Luna had made for him a few months ago. The blonde adored the twins and often came over with ‘unique’ presents for them that she came across during her travels with her husband, Rolf Scamander.

“Ooh, I love glitter!” Maggie exclaimed, clapping at the sight of Silas’ jar. She loved everything that shone, and that included glitter, chocolate wrappers, marbles, wind chimes and tinsel. “It’s so pretty, isn’t it, Mummy?”

“Yes, it is,” Hermione agreed, ruffling her daughter’s hair gently. She smiled at Silas and asked, “Why do you like the picture, honey?”

“Aunt Luna said you were very happy when you married Daddy, and I like it when you’re happy.”

Severus glanced at Hermione, who quietly sniffled at Silas’ answer. He couldn’t even imagine himself in Silas’ place; his parents had never been the loving sort, and he could still remember the terrible fights they had had. When Hermione had given birth to the twins, Severus had vowed to never let them go through the same things he had. He had promised himself that they would never have to be scared of him — like he had been of his father — and neither would they starve for affection.

Severus rolled his eyes but reached out to place his hand on her thigh. She placed her hand over his and squeezed in gratitude, and he relaxed.  _ At least she’s not going to cry. _

“What about you, Maggie? What do you like looking at?” he questioned, looking down at his daughter, who perked up at finally being asked.

She pulled out a few thornless roses from her bag and grinned. Severus grew them in their garden as a way to reminisce about his past with Hermione, and when the twins had learned how to crawl, he had started to use a special potion to make sure they grew without thorns. 

“Your roses, Daddy! Aunt Ginny said you gave Mummy roses to  _ imp-impruss _ her, and I love roses! They smell so nice, and they’re  _ red _ — that’s my favourite colour, you know!”

“Yes, Daddy did  _ impress _ me by giving me roses,” Hermione said with a fond smile, reminiscing about the time Severus had sent her a bouquet of roses with the first edition of  _ Hogwarts: A History _ . It had been then that she had realized she wanted to truly get to know him. Severus caught her eye, and the two smiled as the memories came rushing back to them. Hermione glanced back at Maggie and said, “Come here, sweetie, and I’ll put these in your hair.”

When Maggie sat in Hermione’s lap with a huge grin on her face, Severus’ eyes softened as he watched his wife use her wand to turn the flowers into a small crown for their little girl. He absentmindedly reached out and tucked Hermione’s hair behind her ear, and she gave him a soft smile in return.

Once she was done, Hermione glanced at the list and said, “What about something that reminds you of Daddy?”

Maggie immediately presented them with a football and said, “I love playing football with Daddy and Si. I also love it when Daddy  _ loses _ !”

Severus pretended to scowl at her, but she giggled and blew him a kiss, which instantly made him smile and ruin his image. There was no way he could ever remain mad at her — not for long, though. He didn’t know if it was normal for other fathers to feel the same, but he knew there was nothing he wouldn’t do to make his daughter smile and laugh. “Cheeky little brat,” he grumbled. “I  _ let  _ you win.”

“No, you don’t, Daddy. You’re  _ old — that’s _ why you lose,” Maggie argued immediately, and Hermione burst into laughter. “Mummy, tell Daddy he’s old! Even Uncle Harry says it!”

“Potter will suffer a painful death, mark my words,” Severus hissed under his breath, and Silas and Maggie laughed when Hermione smacked his arm. “What? He called me  _ old _ ! Don’t tell me you agree with him.”

“I don’t,” Hermione said quickly, but she turned her head and mouthed to the children, ‘I do.’ Their muffled giggles made Severus scowl at them, which only made them laugh harder.

“Can we stop mocking my age and continue the hunt?” Severus grumbled, and the children quickly straightened up.

“Next, show us something you would use to make a gift for someone,” Hermione said, smiling at the twins.

Maggie hurriedly emptied her bag onto the floor, letting colourful markers, paints and colour pencils to spill forth. She scooped them up in her little hands and said, “I draw and write letters for everyone — Ooh! Look, I even have a baby scissors, and it’s pink! Pink’s my favourite colour!”

“I thought you said your favourite colour was red,” Silas said with confusion, and Maggie stuck her tongue out at him.

“I like pink  _ and  _ red. And blue. And yellow. And silver. And—”

“We get it, honey,” Hermione said, kissing her cheek. “You can like as many colours as you want, okay?”

Once Maggie was pacified enough, Severus asked, “Silas, do  _ you _ have anything to show us?”

“Yes, Daddy,” he said solemnly, pulling out a few ribbons from his bag. “I can make ribbon flowers and glue them to gifts.”

“That’s wonderful, sweetie,” Hermione said with a proud smile. She pulled him into her arms and kissed his cheek. “Could you make me one now?”

“Of course, Mummy,” he murmured, his eyes trained on the ribbons. He slowly started to flip the ribbons on either side but got sidetracked by how long they were. He huffed and grumbled, “I can’t do it when you’re looking. Don’t look at me.”

“No one will look at you,” Hermione promised and nudged Maggie to look away. Once Silas was sure they weren’t watching him, he carefully weaved two ribbons together to make a small flower and tapped Hermione’s arm. When she turned her head and saw the flower, she squealed and cried, “This looks  _ gorgeous _ , Si!” 

“Let’s tie it in Daddy’s hair!” Maggie grabbed the flower from Silas’ hands and scrambled to stand behind Severus. He sighed but scooted down a little so that Maggie could reach his head. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for his little girl, and they all knew it. Hermione and Silas grinned as Maggie awkwardly tied the ribbon in Severus’ hair. “You look so pretty, Daddy. I love you!”

Severus couldn’t stop his smile from spreading on his face as he tugged Maggie closer and kissed her forehead softly. “And I love  _ you _ , Maggie.” It was another one of his vows; he had promised himself he would never let his children — and wife — doubt his feelings for them. He knew just how much he had wished for his parents to say one kind word to him, but his wish had never been granted.

“What about us, Daddy?” Silas asked, pouting dramatically. “Don’t you love me and Mummy?”

“Of course, I love you two,” Severus said with a roll of his eyes. As if he could  _ not _ love them.  _ How preposterous to even think so.  _ “Come here.”

Hermione and Silas scooted closer to him, and Severus wrapped his arms around them, tugging them closer. Maggie giggled happily as she wrapped her arms around Silas. “Yay! We’re all together!”

Hermione twisted her head and caught Severus’ eye. “Yes, we’re all together,” she whispered as she tilted her head up to let her lips graze against his, and Severus couldn’t help but meet them just as firmly as he wraps his arms tighter around his family, almost squeezing them, to hold them flush against him.

**Author's Note:**

> Please read and review. Thanks! :)


End file.
